Training and Management of Employees in Wal—Mart

周悦 张丽

Background

Wal-Mart is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets， discount department stores and grocery stores. Headquartered in Bentonville， Arkansas， the company was founded by Sam Walton in 1962 and incorporated on October 31， 1969. As of April 30， 2016， Wal-Mart has 11，527 stores and clubs in 28 countries， under a total of 63 banners.

The Training Program

Wal-Mart has always combinated staff training program with development plan. Training work is the most important part of Wal-Marts human resource management. In Wal-Mart， the international subsidiaries must work together with the Wal-Mart International Department to develop and review the annual training plan in September.

Wal-Mart human resource department will develop appropriate development plan for each employee. According to the growth path of each employee， Wal-Mart human resource department will provide the corresponding training.

Unique Induction Training

New staff induction training of Wal-Mart is unique. In order to do a good job in induction training， Wal-Mart has set up training shops around the world. Wal-Mart will spend half a year recruiting new employees for new stores， and organize new employees to accept the internship training for 3 to 6 months at nearby training stores.

The most important training program is “1-30-60-90 plan” during the internship training. It refers that new employees will accept induction training of different forms and contents for four times when they have begun to work for one day， thirty days， sixty days and ninety days.

Systematic Technical Training in Key Posts

Wal-Mart attaches great importance to technical training for employees of key posts. For example， Wal-Mart's purchasing managers will accept regular and systematic technical training， including training in English communication skills， negotiation skills， and promotion skills. In order to improve the professional skills of employees， Wal-Mart creates a new training program， called the “Wal-Mart Fresh Food College”.

The college which is set up in subbranches of Wal-Mart in China caters especially to Chinese dietetic culture and eating culture. The college trains staff how to make a variety of pasta in line with local tastes， in order to achieve the ultimate goal of increasing sales.

The Training of Female Employee

Wal-Mart has carried out “TMAP plan” to female employees.“TMAP plan” is one of the unique courses in global training system of Wal-Mart. The plan originally called“the training program of female managers”was set for female employees with potential ability who are willing to become managers. Later on， the corporation changes the name of the plan into “TMAP plan” in order to express the objective of this program that is to cultivate the direct heir more clearly.

Training Method

Cross-Training

Cross-training pays attention to motivate innovation that is unique in the world. Many Wal-Mart employees have become multi-skilled. Cross-training in business operations， also known as multiskilling involves training employees for flexible response to changing production schedules.

It also refers to employees of a department going to other departments to learn. The followings are advantages of cross-training：

1. Helps customers in the long run， as employees are empowered to answer questions about the entire organization.

2. Requires staff to re-evaluate the reasons and methods for accomplishing their work； inefficient methods， outdated techniques and bureaucratic drift are challenged， if not eliminated.

Management Strategies

Regard subordinates as “colleagues”

Wal-Marts corporate culture advocates not only respecting every employee， every customer， but also providing customers with the first-class service. Both superiors and subordinates call each other by their first names， which cultivates a casual and friendly atmosphere. This rule motivates employees to devote themselves totally into the work of the company.

Case Summary

The survival and development of enterprises also depend on whether managers give full attention to their initiative and creativity. The key to Wal-Mart's success relies on its humanistic management. The humanistic management makes managers and employees blend together to make every effort for the development of the company. It has been listed the 1st on Global Fortune 500 from 2012 to 2016.

作者简介：

周悦（1991-），女，汉族，安徽淮南人，西安外国语大学外国语言学及应用语言学硕士在读，商务英语方向。

张丽（1992-），女，汉族，河南商丘人，西安外国语大学外国语言学及应用语言学硕士在读，商务英语方向。